Network performance assurance method and apparatus

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of this application provide a network performance assurance method and apparatus. When the network performance assurance method is applied, a second management device determines network performance assurance information. The network performance assurance information includes at least one of a network performance assurance granularity and a network performance assurance condition. The second management device sends a target network management request including the network performance assurance information to a first management device. The first management device receives the target network management request sent by the second management device, and manages a target network based on the at least one of the network performance assurance granularity and the network performance assurance condition included in the target network management request.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser.No. 16/876,412, filed on May 18, 2020, which is a continuation ofInternational Application No. PCT/CN2018/113497, filed on Nov. 1, 2018,which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201711174449.X,filed on Nov. 22, 2017 and which claims priority to International PatentApplication No. PCT/CN2018/103094, filed on Aug. 29, 2018. Thedisclosures of the aforementioned applications are hereby incorporatedby reference in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This application relates to the field of communications technologies,and in particular, to a network performance assurance method andapparatus.

BACKGROUND

With development of communications technologies, there are increasinglydiversified communications services, and different communicationsservices have significantly different requirements for networkperformance such as mobility, security, capacity, latency, andreliability.

In a next-generation communications system, for example, in afifth-generation (5G) mobile communications system, a network slice (NS)concept is introduced to cope with a problem that differentcommunications services have different network performance requirements.

When a 5G network slicing technology is used, network resources of eachslice need to be managed to ensure that performance of a bearer serviceis assured, for example, a service level agreement (SLA) indicatorrequirement is met. Currently, an operator usually negotiates an SLAindicator with an equipment vendor in advance. When an SLA indicator isobtained through negotiation, the operator manages network resourcesbased on the negotiated SLA indicator by using the unified SLAindicator, and performs network performance assurance for terminals inan entire network, so that network performance can be assured for allthe terminals in the entire network. However, in such a manner of usinga unified SLA indicator to perform network performance assurance forterminals in an entire network, a very high requirement is imposed onperformance of a management device that manages network resources in theoperator, and it is very difficult to assure performance of all theterminals in the entire network. This increases an evaluation failureprobability during network performance evaluation.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of this application provide a network performance assurancemethod and apparatus. The method and apparatus may lower a requirementon performance of a management device that manages a network resource,and increase a network performance evaluation pass probability.

According to a first aspect, a network performance assurance method isprovided. In the method, a second management device determines networkperformance assurance information, where the network performanceassurance information includes at least one of a network performanceassurance granularity and a network performance assurance condition, thenetwork performance assurance granularity is used to describe a networkperformance assurance object of a target network, and the networkperformance assurance condition is used to describe a probability that anetwork performance assurance object meets network performance; thesecond management device sends a target network management requestincluding the network performance assurance information to a firstmanagement device; and the first management device receives the targetnetwork management request sent by the second management device, andmanages the target network based on the at least one of the networkperformance assurance granularity and the network performance assurancecondition included in the target network management request.

The first management device may be understood as a device that manages atarget network, and the second management device may be understood as adevice that determines network performance assurance information andsends a network management request. The first management device may be adomain management (DM), and the second management device may be anetwork management (NM); or the first management device may be an NM,and the second management device may be a service management function(SMF); or the first management device may be a DM and an NM, and thesecond management device may be an SMF. Specifically, the firstmanagement device may adjust the target network based on networkperformance assurance information, so that an adjusted target networkcan meet the network performance assurance information.

According to the network performance assurance method provided in thisembodiment of this application, the network performance assuranceinformation includes the at least one of the network performanceassurance granularity and the network performance assurance condition.Therefore, it may not be necessary to assure performance of terminals inthe entire network, provided that the network performance of the targetnetwork meets the network performance assurance granularity and/or thenetwork performance assurance condition included in the networkperformance assurance information. This can lower a network deviceperformance requirement, increase a network performance evaluation passrate, and reduce an exception processing probability.

The network performance assurance granularity is used to describe thenetwork performance assurance object, and the network performanceassurance object may be at least one of a single terminal, a cell, aregion, a terminal group (UE Group), and a tenant.

The network performance assurance condition is used to describe theprobability that a network performance assurance object meets networkperformance. For example, the probability that a network performanceassurance object meets network performance includes at least one of thefollowing proportions: a proportion of network performance assuranceobjects that meet the network performance in all network performanceassurance objects, and a proportion of a usage time in which networkperformance is met in a service usage process of the network performanceassurance object in a total time. Optionally, the network performanceassurance condition may be alternatively used to describe a probabilitythat a network performance assurance object does not meet networkperformance, for example, a proportion of network performance assuranceobjects that do not meet the network performance in all networkperformance assurance objects, or a proportion of a usage time in whichservice performance is not met in a service usage process of the networkperformance assurance object in a total time. For example, a probabilitythat a service performance assurance object meets service performance isa proportion of service performance assurance objects that do not meetthe service performance in all service performance assurance objects.When the proportion is set to 20%, it indicates that at least 20% ofterminals using a service in the target network do not meet arequirement that a user rate is greater than or equal to 20 Mbps. In aservice usage process of a service performance assurance object, aprobability that a service performance assurance object does not meetservice performance is a proportion of a usage time in which the serviceperformance is not met in a total time. When the proportion is set to20%, it indicates that a requirement that a guaranteed bit rate isgreater than or equal to 80% is not met in at least 20% of a time in aprocess of using a service by each terminal using a service in thetarget network.

In a possible design, the network performance assurance information mayfurther include an applicable condition corresponding to the networkperformance assurance information. The applicable condition may be aspecified condition for using service performance assurance information.For example, the service performance assurance information includes aservice performance assurance granularity, a service performanceassurance condition, and an applicable condition of the serviceperformance assurance granularity and the service performance assurancecondition. Alternatively, the applicable condition may be a user groupusing service performance assurance information. For example, theservice performance assurance information includes a service performanceassurance granularity and an applicable condition of the serviceperformance assurance granularity.

In another possible design, the second management device may determinethe network performance assurance information in the following manner:The second management device receives a service request, where theservice request includes service performance assurance information, andthe service performance assurance information includes at least one of aservice performance assurance granularity and a service performanceassurance condition. The service performance assurance information mayfurther include an applicable condition corresponding to the serviceperformance assurance information, in other words, an applicablecondition of the at least one of the service performance assurancegranularity and the service performance assurance condition. The secondmanagement device determines the network performance assuranceinformation based on the service performance assurance informationincluded in the service request.

In another possible design, the first management device may send atleast one piece of network performance assurance capability informationsupported by the target network to the second management device, wherethe at least one piece of network performance assurance capabilityinformation supported by the target network may include the networkperformance assurance information of the target network, for example,may include the at least one of the network performance assurancegranularity supported by the target network and the network performanceassurance condition supported by the target network. The secondmanagement device receives the at least one piece of network performanceassurance capability information supported by the target network that issent by the first management device, and determines the networkperformance assurance information based on the at least one piece ofnetwork performance assurance capability information supported by thetarget network, so that the network performance assurance informationdetermined by the second management device can be supported by thetarget network.

In another possible design, before sending the at least one piece ofnetwork performance assurance capability information supported by thetarget network to the second management device, the first managementdevice may obtain a network template corresponding to the targetnetwork. The network template corresponding to the target network isused to deploy a network component in the target network, and may alsobe referred to as a network component template. The network templateincludes the at least one piece of network performance assurancecapability information supported by the target network. After obtainingthe network template corresponding to the target network, the firstmanagement device may determine, based on the at least one piece ofnetwork performance assurance capability information included in thenetwork template, the network performance assurance capabilityinformation supported by the target network.

In another possible design, the first management device may manage thetarget network based on the network performance assurance information inthe following manner: The first management device may select or create anetwork that meets the network performance assurance informationincluded in the target network management request, to serve as thetarget network. For example, when the network performance assuranceinformation includes the network performance assurance granularity, thefirst management device may select or create a network in which networkperformance assurance is performed based on the network performanceassurance granularity included in the target network management request,to serve as the target network. If the network performance assuranceinformation includes the network performance assurance condition, thefirst management device may select or create a network that meets thenetwork performance assurance condition included in the target networkmanagement request, to serve as the target network. If the networkperformance assurance information includes the network performanceassurance condition and the network performance assurance granularity,the first management device may select or create a network in whichnetwork performance assurance is performed based on the networkperformance assurance granularity and that meets the network performanceassurance condition, to serve as the target network. If the networkperformance assurance information further includes the applicablecondition corresponding to the network performance assuranceinformation, the first management device may select the networkperformance assurance information based on the applicable condition toperform network performance assurance.

In a possible example, after selecting or creating the network thatmeets the network performance assurance information, to serve as thetarget network, the first management device may further determinewhether the selected or created network meets the network performanceassurance information in the target network management request in arunning process. If the first management device determines that theselected or created network does not meet the network performanceassurance information in the running process, the first managementdevice performs exception processing. When performing exceptionprocessing, the first management device may adjust the selected orcreated network, so that an adjusted network meets the networkperformance assurance information. In this embodiment of thisapplication, the first management device may adjust the selected orcreated network in at least one of the following manners: modifying atopology structure of the selected or created network; adjusting atransport network between network components in the selected or creatednetwork; replacing a network component in the selected or creatednetwork with a new network component; and upgrading a network componentin the selected or created network. When performing exceptionprocessing, the first management device may alternatively send a networkperformance assurance exception notification to the second managementdevice, to notify the second management device that the current targetnetwork cannot meet the network performance assurance information in thetarget network management request.

In another possible design, the first management device may manage thetarget network based on the network performance assurance information inthe following manner: The first management device may configure thenetwork performance assurance information in the target network or inmanagement information of the target network, so that the target networkmeets the configured network performance assurance information.Configuring the network performance assurance information in the targetnetwork may be understood as follows: The first management device storesthe network performance assurance information in the target network orsends the network performance assurance information to the targetnetwork. Configuring the network performance assurance information inthe management information of the target network may be understood asfollows: The first management device stores the network performanceassurance information in the management information of the targetnetwork. If the network performance assurance information includes thenetwork performance assurance granularity, the first management devicemay configure the network performance assurance granularity in thetarget network or in the management information of the target network.If the network performance assurance information includes the networkperformance assurance condition, the first management device mayconfigure the network performance assurance condition in the targetnetwork or in the management information of the target network.

In a possible example, after the first management device configures thenetwork performance assurance information in the target network or inthe management information of the target network, the first managementdevice may determine whether the target network in which the networkperformance assurance information is configured meets the networkperformance assurance information in the target network managementrequest in a running process. If the first management device determinesthat the target network in which the network performance assuranceinformation is configured does not meet the network performanceassurance information in the target network management request in therunning process, the first management device performs exceptionprocessing on the target network. When performing exception processing,the first management device may adjust the target network, so that anadjusted target network meets the network performance assuranceinformation. In this embodiment of this application, the firstmanagement device may adjust the target network in at least one of thefollowing manners: modifying a topology structure of the target network;adjusting a transport network between network components in the targetnetwork; replacing a network component in the target network with a newnetwork component; upgrading a network component in the target network;and configuring a network component in the network. The configuring anetwork component in the network may include: when the network componentin the network is a base station or a wireless network including a basestation, configuring an antenna of the base station, configuring anoptimization policy (including a handover policy and the like) of thebase station, adding a resource, or the like. When performing exceptionprocessing, the first management device may alternatively send a networkperformance assurance exception notification to the second managementdevice, to notify the second management device that the current targetnetwork cannot meet the network performance assurance information in thetarget network management request.

According to a second aspect, a network performance assurance apparatusis provided. The network performance assurance apparatus may be appliedto a first management device, and the network performance assuranceapparatus applied to the first management device has functions ofimplementing the method performed by the first management device in thefirst aspect. The functions may be implemented by hardware, or may beimplemented by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardwareor the software includes at least one module corresponding to theforegoing functions.

In a possible design, the network performance assurance apparatusapplied to the first management device includes a receiving unit and aprocessing unit, and may further include a sending unit. Functions ofthe receiving unit, the processing unit, and the sending unit maycorrespond to method steps. Details are not described herein again.

In another possible design, the network performance assurance apparatusapplied to the first management device may include an input interface,an output interface, a processor, and a memory. The input interface, theoutput interface, the processor, and the memory may be connected to eachother by using a bus system. The memory is configured to store aprogram, and the processor is configured to execute the program in thememory, to perform the method performed by the first management devicein the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect.

According to a third aspect, a network performance assurance apparatusis provided. The network performance assurance apparatus may be appliedto a second management device, and the network performance assuranceapparatus applied to the second management device has functions ofimplementing the method performed by the second management device in thefirst aspect. The functions may be implemented by hardware, or may beimplemented by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardwareor the software includes at least one module corresponding to theforegoing functions.

In a possible design, the network performance assurance apparatusapplied to the second management device includes a processing unit and asending unit, and may further include a receiving unit. Functions of theprocessing unit, the sending unit, and the receiving unit may correspondto method steps. Details are not described herein again.

In another possible design, the network performance assurance apparatusapplied to the second management device may include an input interface,an output interface, a processor, and a memory. The input interface, theoutput interface, the processor, and the memory may be connected to eachother by using a bus system. The memory is configured to store aprogram, and the processor is configured to execute the program in thememory, to perform the method performed by the second management devicein the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect.

According to a fourth aspect, an embodiment of this application providesa communications system. The communications system includes the networkperformance assurance apparatus applied to the first management devicein the second aspect and the network performance assurance apparatusapplied to the second management device in the third aspect.

According to a fifth aspect, an embodiment of this application providesa computer readable storage medium. The computer readable storage mediumstores a computer instruction, and when the instruction is run on acomputer, any method performed by the first management device or thesecond management device in the first aspect or any possible design ofthe first aspect can be completed.

According to a sixth aspect, a computer program product is provided. Thecomputer program product includes a computer program, and the computerprogram is used to perform any method performed by the first managementdevice or the second management device in the first aspect and anypossible design of the first aspect.

According to a seventh aspect, a chip is provided. The chip is coupledto a transceiver in a first management device or a second managementdevice, and is configured to perform the technical solution in anypossible design provided in the first aspect of the embodiments of thisapplication. It should be understood that “coupling” in the embodimentsof this application means that two components are directly or indirectlycombined with each other. Such a combination may be fixed or mobile, andthe combination may allow fluid, electricity, electrical signals, orother types of signals to communicate between the two components.

According to the network performance assurance method and apparatusprovided in the embodiments of this application, the network performanceassurance information includes the at least one of the networkperformance assurance granularity and the network performance assurancecondition. Therefore, it may not be necessary to assure performance ofterminals in the entire network provided that the network performance ofthe target network meets the network performance assurance granularityand/or the network performance assurance condition included in thenetwork performance assurance information. This can lower a networkdevice performance requirement, increase a network performanceevaluation pass rate, and reduce an exception processing probability.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a system architecture to which a networkperformance assurance method is applied according to an embodiment ofthis application;

FIG. 2 is an implementation flowchart of a network performance assurancemethod according to an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 3 is an implementation example diagram of a network performanceassurance method according to an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 4 is an implementation flowchart of another network performanceassurance method according to an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 5 is an implementation example diagram of another networkperformance assurance method according to an embodiment of thisapplication;

FIG. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a network performanceassurance apparatus applied to a first management device according to anembodiment of this application;

FIG. 7 is another schematic structural diagram of a network performanceassurance apparatus applied to a first management device according to anembodiment of this application;

FIG. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a network performanceassurance apparatus applied to a second management device according toan embodiment of this application; and

FIG. 9 is another schematic structural diagram of a network performanceassurance apparatus applied to a second management device according toan embodiment of this application.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The following describes the embodiments of this application withreference to accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a system architecture to which a networkperformance assurance method is applied according to an embodiment ofthis application. The system architecture shown in FIG. 1 mainlyincludes the following network elements: a service management function(SMF) unit, a network management (NM) unit, a domain management (DM)unit, and a transport network manager (TN Manager). The SMF may beunderstood as a customer, and is mainly configured to: receive a servicerequirement of a related tenant; convert the service requirement into anetwork slic-related requirement; and perform service-relatedmanagement. It should be noted that a name of the SMF is not limited inthe embodiments of this application. For example, the SMF may also bereferred to as a customer service management function or a communicationservice management function (CSMF). The SMF may be an independentmanagement unit, or may be a specific function in any management unit,for example, may be a specific function in a business support system(BSS), a service management unit, a service orchestration unit, or aservice management and orchestration unit. It should be further notedthat the SMF may be included or may not be included in an operationssupport system (OSS). In addition, the SMF in the embodiments of thisapplication may alternatively be a management unit or an operation unitof a user.

The NM may also be understood as a network slice management function(NSMF). A main function of the NM includes an end-to-end networkmanagement function, or an end-to-end network orchestration function, orboth. Specifically, the NM may have some or all of the followingfunctions:

The NM can perform end-to-end network management (for example, networklife cycle management, network template management, network faultmanagement, network performance management, and network configurationmanagement) and mapping among an end-to-end network, a subnet, and anetwork function; coordinate sub-SLAs or network resources provided bydifferent domains (for example, an access network domain, a core networkdomain, and a transmission domain); decompose network requirementinformation into subnet requirement information; orchestrate subnetsprovided by all domains together, so that subnets provided by differentsubdomains can meet a target service requirement or a target networkrequirement (for example, a service level agreement (SLA) requirement, akey performance indicator (KPI) requirement, or a quality of service(QoS) requirement); and perform management (for example, networkresource deployment, configuration management, performance management,and fault management) on end-to-end network resources (for example,network functions, transmission resources, network elements, or airinterface resources). The end-to-end network in the embodiments of thisapplication may also be referred to as a network slice or an end-to-end(E2E) network slice. Specifically, the end-to-end network includes atleast a core network (CN), an access network (AN), and a transportnetwork (TN); or the end-to-end network may include any two of a CN, anAN, and a TN; or the end-to-end network may represent a CN, an AN, or aTN. In the embodiments of this application, the end-to-end networkincludes at least one network subnet. Logically, a network is a set ofnetwork functions. The network subnet herein may also be referred to asa network slice subnet. The network slice (NS) in the embodiments ofthis application may be understood as a communication resource used toensure that a bearer service can meet the SLA requirement, and hardisolation (physical isolation) or soft isolated (logical isolation) maybe performed on these resources according to different requirements. Onenetwork slice may be understood as a combination of network functionsand resources required for completing a specific service (or someservices), and is a complete logical network. In addition, the networkslice in the embodiments of this application is a broad concept. It maybe considered that a conventional network or a dedicated network is alsoa network slice, or it may be considered that a network slice subnet isalso a network slice. Further, slice transmission in the embodiments ofthis application is a link between two 3rd generation partnershipproject (3GPP) nodes (for example, a link between network functions (NF)or a link between network elements (NE)), including a link between CNnodes, a link between a CN node and an AN node, and a link between ANnodes.

It should be noted that a name of the network management unit is notlimited in the embodiments of this application. For example, the networkmanagement unit in the embodiments of this application may also bereferred to as a cross-domain management unit, a cross-domain networkslice management unit, or a network slice management unit. In theembodiments of this application, the network management unit may be anindependent management unit, or may be a specific function in anymanagement unit (for example, a network orchestration unit, a networkmanagement and orchestration unit, a service management unit, a serviceorchestration unit, a service management and orchestration unit, or anetwork function virtualization orchestrator (NFVO)). In addition, itshould be further noted that the network management unit may be includedor may be not included in the OSS.

The DM may also be understood as a network slice subnet managementfunction (NSSMF). A main function of the DM includes a subnet managementfunction, or an orchestration function, or both. Specifically, the DMmay have some or all of the following functions:

The DM can perform domain management (including subnet life cyclemanagement (creation, update, and deletion), subnet fault management,subnet performance management, subnet configuration management, and thelike), and service management (including service life cycle management,service fault management, service performance management, serviceconfiguration management, and the like); coordinate network resources(for example, network functions (NF) or network elements (NE)); andperform management (for example, including network resource deployment,configuration management, performance management, and fault management)on intra-domain network resources (for example, network functions,transmission resources, network elements, or air interface resources).The subnet in the embodiments of this application may include one ormore of the AN, the CN, and the TN. Specifically, the subnet in theembodiments of this application may be considered as a network functionor a network element, and this is not limited. When a subnet managed bythe domain management unit includes only the AN, the domain managementunit may also be referred to as an AN DM; or when a subnet managed bythe domain management unit includes only the CN, the domain managementunit may also be referred to as a CN DM; or when a subnet managed by thedomain management unit includes the AN and the CN, the domain managementunit may be referred to as a mix domain management unit (mix DM). Itshould be noted that a name of the DM is not limited in the embodimentsof this application. For example, the DM in the embodiments of thisapplication may also be referred to as a domain slice management unit ora network slice subnet management unit. The DM in the embodiments ofthis application may be an independent management unit, or may be aspecific function in any management unit (a network management unit, anetwork orchestration unit, a network management and orchestration unit,an element management unit, a network function management unit, aservice management unit, a service orchestration unit, a domainmanagement unit, a service management and orchestration unit, an NFVO,or the like). It should be further noted that the DM may be included ormay be not included in the OSS.

The TN manager may also be referred to as a TN-DM. A main function ofthe TN manager includes a transport network management function, or atransport network orchestration function, or both. The TN manager mayhave some or all of the following functions:

The TN manager can perform transport network management (includingtransport network life cycle management (creation, update, anddeletion), transport network fault management, transport networkperformance management, transport network configuration management, andthe like). It should be noted that a name of the TN manager is notlimited in the embodiments of this application. For example, the TNmanager in the embodiments of this application may also be referred toas a subnet management unit, a transport network subnet management unit,or a network slice transport network management unit.

The TN-manager may be an independent management unit, or may be aspecific function in any management unit (a network management unit, anetwork orchestration unit, a network management and orchestration unit,an element management unit, a network function management unit, aservice management unit, a service orchestration unit, a domainmanagement unit, a service management and orchestration unit, an NFVO,or the like). In addition, it should be further noted that the TNmanager may be included or may be not included in the OSS.

In the embodiments of this application, the SMF, the NM, the DM, and theTN manager may be integrated into one physical device, or may beseparately integrated into different physical devices. This is notlimited in the embodiments of this application. For example, the DM andthe NM, or the TN manager and the NM may be integrated into one physicaldevice to perform network management, and the SMF may be integrated intoone physical device to determine a network management request.

In the embodiments of this application, for ease of description, adevice that performs network management is referred to as a firstmanagement device, and a device that determines network performanceassurance information and sends a network management request is referredto as a second management device. It should be understood that the firstmanagement device and the second management device in the embodiments ofthis application may be physically-independent physical devices, or maybe logically-independent functional units. When the first managementdevice and the second management device are logically-independentfunctional units, the logically-independent functional units may beintegrated into one physical device, or may be separately integratedinto different physical devices. This is not limited in the embodimentsof this application. For example, the first management device may be theDM, and the second management device may be the NM; or the firstmanagement device may be the NM, and the second management device may bethe SMF; or the first management device may be the DM and the NM, andthe second management device may be the SMF.

In the embodiments of this application, after determining a networkmanagement request, the second management device may send the networkmanagement request to the first management device, and the firstmanagement device manages a network based on the network managementrequest sent by the second management device, so that the network meetsthe network management request sent by the second management device. Inthe embodiments of this application, the network managed by the firstmanagement device based on the network management request sent by thesecond management device may be referred to as a target network. Thetarget network may be a network slice, or may be a network slice subnet.The network management request determined and sent by the secondmanagement device may be referred to as a target network managementrequest. Further, in the embodiments of this application, the targetnetwork management request sent by the second management device mayinclude network performance assurance information of the target network.After receiving the target network management request sent by the secondmanagement device, the first management device may manage the targetnetwork based on the network performance assurance information includedin the target network management request, so that the target networkmeets the network performance assurance information included in thetarget network management request.

Currently, the network performance assurance information sent by thesecond management device is usually used to assure network performance(the network performance includes at least one of a latency, abandwidth, a throughput rate, reliability, availability, a terminalguaranteed bit rate, and a service invocation success rate) for allterminals in the target network, so that the network performance of thetarget network can be assured for all the terminals in the entirenetwork. However, in this manner, it is very difficult to assureperformance of all the terminals in the entire network, and a highperformance requirement is imposed on a target network device. Inaddition, during network performance evaluation, an evaluation failureprobability is increased, and a network exception processing probabilityis increased. For example, if there are N terminals in the targetnetwork, and the network performance assurance information requires thata latency of the target network is 10 ms, the N terminals in the targetnetwork all need to meet the 10 ms latency, and this imposes a very highperformance requirement on the first management device. During networkperformance evaluation, if N-1 terminals meet the 10 ms latency, but oneterminal does not meet the 10 ms latency, the evaluation fails, and thefirst management device needs to perform exception processing on thetarget network. However, in an actual communication process, it may notbe necessary to assure performance of all terminals in the targetnetwork, and only a specified proportion of terminals whose performanceis assured needs to be reached.

In view of this, the embodiments of this application provide a networkperformance assurance method. In the method, a target network managementrequest sent by a second management device includes network performanceassurance information of a target network, the network performanceassurance information includes at least one of a network performanceassurance granularity and a network performance assurance condition, thenetwork performance assurance granularity is used to describe a networkperformance assurance object of the target network, and the networkperformance assurance condition is used to describe a probability that anetwork performance assurance object meets network performance. Becauseof introduction of the network performance assurance granularity and thenetwork performance assurance condition, it may not be necessary toassure performance of all terminals in the entire network provided thatthe network performance of the target network meets the networkperformance assurance granularity and/or the network performanceassurance condition included in the network performance assuranceinformation. This can lower a network device performance requirement,increase a network performance evaluation pass rate, and reduce anexception processing probability. For example, if the networkperformance assurance information requires that 90% of terminalsaccessing the target network have a 10 ms latency, 90% of terminalsaccessing the target network instead of all terminals accessing thetarget network are required to have the 10 ms latency when the firstmanagement device manages the target network. This reduces a performancerequirement on the first management device. During network performanceevaluation, if 90% of terminals have the 10 ms latency, it may beconsidered that the evaluation succeeds and no exception processingneeds to be performed on the target network.

It should be noted that the terminal in the embodiments of thisapplication is also referred to as user equipment (UE), a mobile station(MS), a mobile terminal (MT), or the like, and is a device that providesa user with voice and/or data connectivity, for example, a hand-helddevice or a vehicle-mounted device having a wireless connectionfunction. Currently, the terminal is, for example, a mobile phone, atablet computer, a notebook computer, a palmtop computer, a mobileinternet device (MID), a wearable device, a virtual reality (VR) device,an augmented reality (AR) device, a wireless terminal in industrialcontrol, a wireless terminal in self driving, a wireless terminal inremote surgery, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminalin transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, or awireless terminal in a smart home. The terminal in the embodiments ofthis application may also be referred to as a user.

FIG. 2 shows a network performance assurance method according to anembodiment of this application. As shown in FIG. 2, the method includesthe following steps:

S101. A second management device determines network performanceassurance information, where the network performance assuranceinformation includes at least one of a network performance assurancegranularity and a network performance assurance condition.

S102. The second management device sends a target network managementrequest including the network performance assurance information to afirst management device, and the first management device receives thetarget network management request sent by the second management device.

S103. The first management device manages a target network based on thenetwork performance assurance information included in the target networkmanagement request.

According to the network performance assurance method provided in thisembodiment of this application, the network performance assuranceinformation includes the at least one of the network performanceassurance granularity and the network performance assurance condition.Therefore, it may not be necessary to assure performance of terminals inthe entire network provided that network performance of the targetnetwork meets the network performance assurance granularity and/or thenetwork performance assurance condition included in the networkperformance assurance information. This can lower a network deviceperformance requirement, increase a network performance evaluation passrate, and reduce an exception processing probability.

In this embodiment of this application, specific implementationprocesses of performing steps S101, S102, and S103 are described belowby using examples.

In S101, the second management device (for example, an SMF) may receivea service request. The service request includes service performanceassurance information, and the service performance assurance informationincludes at least one of a service performance assurance granularity anda service performance assurance condition.

The service performance assurance information may further include anapplicable condition corresponding to the service performance assuranceinformation, in other words, an applicable condition corresponding tothe at least one of the service performance assurance granularity andthe service performance assurance condition.

In this embodiment of this application, service performance may includeat least one of a latency, a throughput rate, reliability, availability,a terminal guaranteed bit rate, a service invocation success rate, andthe like. The latency indicates a time required by a terminal to use aservice provided by the target network. The service invocation successrate may be a probability that a service provided by the target networkis successfully invoked by the terminal. The terminal guaranteed bitrate is a data transmission quantity required by the terminal to use aservice provided by the target network. The throughput rate indicates asecond-level data forwarding capability of a service provided by thetarget network. The reliability indicates a continuous workingcapability of a service provided by the target network. The availabilityindicates a capability that a service provided by the target networkprovides a required function at a specified time point or within aspecified time period.

In this embodiment of this application, the service performanceassurance granularity is used to describe a service performanceassurance object, and the service performance assurance object may be atleast one of a single terminal, a cell, a region, a terminal group (UEGroup), and a tenant. An example in which the service performance is aminimum terminal guaranteed bit rate of 20 Mbps is used to describe theservice performance assurance object. If the service performanceassurance object is a terminal, it indicates that the serviceperformance assurance granularity is a single terminal, and a minimumguaranteed bit rate at which each terminal in the target network uses aservice needs to be greater than or equal to 20 Mbps. If the serviceperformance assurance object is a cell, it indicates that the serviceperformance assurance granularity is a cell, and an average rate atwhich all terminals use a service provided by each cell in the targetnetwork needs to be greater than or equal to 20 Mbps. If the serviceperformance assurance object is a region, it indicates that the serviceperformance assurance granularity is a region, and an average rate atwhich all UEs in a specific region in the target network use a serviceneeds to be greater than or equal to 20 Mbps. If the service performanceassurance object is a terminal group, it indicates that the serviceperformance assurance granularity is a terminal group, and an averagerate at which all terminals in the group use a service provided by thetarget network needs to be greater than or equal to 20 Mbps. If theservice performance assurance object is a tenant, it indicates that theservice performance assurance granularity is a tenant, and an averagerate at which all terminals of the tenant use a service provided by thetarget network needs to be greater than or equal to 20 Mbps.

In this embodiment of this application, the service performanceassurance condition is used to describe a probability that a serviceperformance assurance object meets the service performance or aprobability that the network performance assurance object does not meetthe network performance. For example, the probability that a serviceperformance assurance object meets the service performance includes atleast one of the following proportions: a proportion of serviceperformance assurance objects that meet the service performance in allservice performance assurance objects; a proportion of networkperformance assurance objects that do not meet the network performancein all network performance assurance objects; a proportion of a usagetime in which the service performance is met in a service usage processof the service performance assurance object in a total time; and aproportion of a usage time in which the service performance is not metin a service usage process of the network performance assurance objectin a total time. An example in which the service performance is aminimum terminal guaranteed bit rate of 20 Mbps is used to describe theservice performance assurance condition. When the probability that aservice performance assurance object meets the service performance isthe proportion of the service performance assurance objects that meetthe service performance in all the service performance assuranceobjects, and the proportion is 80%, it indicates that a guaranteed bitrate of each of 80% of terminals using a service in the target networkneeds to be greater than or equal to 20 Mbps. When the probability thata service performance assurance object meets the service performance isa proportion of service performance assurance objects that do not meetthe service performance in all the service performance assuranceobjects, and the proportion is 20%, it indicates that at least 20% ofterminals using a service in the target network do not meet arequirement that a user rate is greater than or equal to 20 Mbps. In theservice usage process of the service performance assurance object, whenthe probability that a service performance assurance object meets theservice performance is the proportion of the usage time in which theservice performance is met in the total time, and the proportion is 80%,it indicates that a requirement that a guaranteed bit rate is greaterthan or equal to 80% needs to be met in 80% of a time in a process ofusing a service by each terminal using a service in the target network.In the service usage process of the service performance assuranceobject, when a probability that a service performance assurance objectdoes not meet the service performance is a proportion of a usage time inwhich the service performance is not met in a total time, and theproportion is 20%, it indicates that a requirement that a guaranteed bitrate is greater than or equal to 80% is not met in at least 20% of atime in a process of using a service by each terminal using a service inthe target network.

In this embodiment of this application, the service performanceassurance information may include the service performance assurancegranularity, or may include the service performance assurance condition,or may include the service performance assurance granularity and theservice performance assurance condition. An example in which the serviceperformance assurance information includes the service performanceassurance granularity and the service performance assurance condition isused for description. The service performance assurance information maybe as follows: in a shopping mall, 90% of terminals need to meetspecified service performance and each terminal needs to meet thespecified service performance within 90% of a time in a service usageprocess; and in a suburban area, 80% of terminals need to meet specifiedservice performance and each terminal needs to meet the specifiedservice performance within 80% of a time in a service usage process.

In this embodiment of this application, the applicable conditioncorresponding to the service performance assurance information may be aspecified condition for using the service performance assuranceinformation. For example, the service performance assurance informationincludes an applicable condition corresponding to the serviceperformance assurance granularity, or an applicable conditioncorresponding to the service performance assurance condition, or anapplicable condition corresponding to the service performance assurancegranularity and the service performance assurance condition. If theservice performance assurance granularity is a terminal, the serviceperformance assurance condition is that the proportion of the serviceperformance assurance objects that meet the service performance in allthe service performance assurance objects is 90%, and the applicablecondition corresponding to the service performance assurance granularityand the service performance assurance condition is an off-peak time, theservice performance assurance information may indicate that 90% ofterminals meet the service performance in the off-peak time. If theservice performance assurance granularity is a terminal, the serviceperformance assurance condition is that the proportion of the serviceperformance assurance objects that meet the service performance in allthe service performance assurance objects is 80%, and the applicablecondition corresponding to the service performance assurance granularityand the service performance assurance condition is a busy time, theservice performance assurance information may indicate that 80% ofterminals meet the service performance in the busy time.

In this embodiment of this application, the applicable conditioncorresponding to the service performance assurance information may be auser group that uses the service performance assurance information. Forexample, the service performance assurance information includes anapplicable condition corresponding to the service performance assurancegranularity and the service performance assurance granularity. If theservice performance assurance granularity is a terminal, and theapplicable condition of the service performance assurance granularity isfor a VIP user group and a common user group, the service performanceassurance information may indicate that each terminal in the VIP usergroup meets a first guaranteed bit rate, each terminal in the commonuser group meets a second guaranteed bit rate, and the first guaranteedbit rate is greater than the second guaranteed bit rate.

In this embodiment of this application, after receiving the servicerequest including the service performance assurance information, thesecond management device (for example, the SMF) may determine thenetwork performance assurance information of the target network based onthe service performance assurance information included in the servicerequest.

In this embodiment of this application, the network performance of thetarget network may include at least one of a latency, a bandwidth,reliability, availability, a terminal guaranteed bit rate supported bythe network, a service invocation success rate supported by a network,and the like. In this embodiment of this application, the networkperformance assurance information includes the at least one of thenetwork performance assurance granularity and the network performanceassurance condition. The network performance assurance granularity isused to describe a network performance assurance object of the targetnetwork, and the network performance assurance condition is used todescribe a probability that a network performance assurance object meetsnetwork performance. The network performance assurance information mayfurther include an applicable condition of the network performanceassurance information. In this embodiment of this application, specificdefinitions of the network performance assurance granularity, thenetwork performance assurance condition, and the applicable conditioncorresponding to the network performance assurance information may besimilar to those of the service performance assurance granularity, theservice performance assurance condition, and the applicable conditioncorresponding to the service performance assurance information describedabove. For example, the foregoing service performance may be replacedwith the network performance, and a specific definition is not describedherein again.

Specifically, the second management device may use the serviceperformance assurance information included in the service request as thenetwork performance assurance information of the target network. Forexample, the network latency of the target network may be equal to aservice latency included in the service request, and a terminalguaranteed bit rate of the target network is a rate at which theterminal accesses the target network to transmit data, and may be equalto a terminal guaranteed bit rate included in the service request. Thesecond management device may alternatively convert the serviceperformance assurance information included in the service request intothe network performance assurance information of the target network. Forexample, the bandwidth of the target network is a range of atransmission frequency that can be carried in the target network, andmay be calculated by using a specific formula for a service throughputrate. The reliability of the target network indicates a continuousworking capability of the target network, and can be obtained throughcalculation based on service reliability.

It can be understood that, in this embodiment of this application, ifthe target network is a network slice, the network performance assuranceinformation of the target network may be understood as networkperformance assurance information of the network slice.

In S102, the target network management request received by the firstmanagement device includes the network performance assurance informationof the target network, the network performance assurance informationincludes the at least one of the network performance assurancegranularity and the network performance assurance condition, the networkperformance assurance granularity is used to describe the networkperformance assurance object of the target network, and the networkperformance assurance condition is used to describe the probability thata network performance assurance object meets network performance or aprobability that the network performance assurance object does not meetnetwork performance.

In S103, the first management device may manage the target network basedon the network performance assurance information included in the targetnetwork management request in the following implementations:

In a possible implementation, in this embodiment of this application,the first management device may select or create a network that meetsthe network performance assurance information included in the targetnetwork management request, to serve as the target network. For example,when the network performance assurance information includes the networkperformance assurance granularity, the first management device mayselect or create a network in which network performance assurance isperformed based on the network performance assurance granularityincluded in the target network management request, to serve as thetarget network. For example, the network performance assurancegranularity is that each terminal meets a specified latency requirement.If an existing network includes a first network in which a specifiedlatency requirement can be assured for each terminal and a secondnetwork in which the specified latency requirement can be assured foreach terminal and each cell, the first management device may select atleast one of the first network and the second network as the targetnetwork. If the existing network does not include a network in which aspecified latency requirement can be assured for each terminal, thefirst management device may select a network component that can assurethe specified latency requirement for each terminal, to create a newnetwork, so that the specified latency requirement can be assured foreach terminal in the new created network; and use the new creatednetwork as the target network.

In this embodiment of this application, if the network performanceassurance information includes the network performance assurancecondition, the first management device may select or create a networkthat meets the network performance assurance condition included in thetarget network management request, to serve as the target network. Forexample, the network performance assurance condition is that a latencyof each of 80% of terminals is less than 5 ms. If an existing networkincludes a third network in which a latency of each of 80% of terminalsis less than 5 ms and a fourth network in which a latency of each of 90%of terminals is less than 5 ms, the first management device may selectat least one of the third network and the fourth network as the targetnetwork. If the existing network does not include a network in which alatency of each of 80% of terminals is less than 5 ms, the firstmanagement device may select a network component that supports arequirement that a latency of each of 80% of terminals is less than 5ms, to create a new network, so that a latency of each of 80% ofterminals needs to be less than 5 ms in the new created network; anduses the new created network as the target network.

In this embodiment of this application, if the network performanceassurance information includes the network performance assurancecondition and the network performance assurance granularity, the firstmanagement device may select or create a network in which networkperformance assurance is performed based on the network performanceassurance granularity and that meets the network performance assurancecondition, to serve as the target network. An example in which thenetwork performance assurance granularity is that each terminal meets aspecified latency requirement and the network performance assurancecondition is that a latency of each of 80% of terminals is less than 5ms is used for description. In this case, when selecting a network, thefirst management device needs to select an existing network that meetsthe foregoing network performance assurance granularity and networkperformance assurance condition, to serve as the target network; orselect a network component that supports the foregoing networkperformance assurance granularity and network performance assurancecondition, to create a new network serving as the target network, sothat a latency of each of 80% of terminals needs to be less than 5 ms inthe selected or created target network.

In this embodiment of this application, if the network performanceassurance information further includes the applicable conditioncorresponding to the network performance assurance information, thefirst management device may select the network performance assuranceinformation based on the applicable condition, to perform networkperformance assurance. For example, if the network performance assuranceinformation is that a latency of each of 90% of terminals is less than 5ms in an off-peak time and a latency of each of 80% of terminals is lessthan 5 ms in a busy time, the first management device first determineswhether a current time is an off-peak time or a busy time, and thendetermines whether the network performance assurance information is thata latency of each of 90% of terminals is less than 5 ms or a latency ofeach of 80% of terminals is less than 5 ms. Alternatively, for example,if the network performance assurance information is that a latency ofeach of 90% of terminals is less than 5 ms when a quantity of terminalsis less than 10 W, or is that a latency of each of 80% of terminals isless than 5 ms when a quantity of terminals is greater than 10 W, thefirst management unit first determines a quantity of terminals in thetarget network. If the quantity of terminals is less than 10 W, theperformance assurance information is that a latency of each of 90% ofterminals is less than 5 ms; or if the quantity of terminals is greaterthan 10 W, a latency of each of 80% of terminals is less than 5 ms.

In this embodiment of this application, after the first managementdevice selects or creates the network that meets the network performanceassurance information, to serve as the target network, the firstmanagement device may further evaluate network performance of theselected or created network in a process in which the selected orcreated network runs. In other words, the first management devicedetermines whether the selected or created network meets the networkperformance assurance information included in the target networkmanagement request in the running process. The first management devicemay further determine, based on an evaluation result, whether to performexception processing. In this embodiment of this application, if thefirst management device determines that the selected or created networkdoes not meet the network performance assurance information in therunning process, the first management device performs exceptionprocessing.

In this embodiment of this application, when performing exceptionprocessing, the first management device may adjust the selected orcreated network, so that an adjusted network meets the networkperformance assurance information. In this embodiment of thisapplication, the first management device may adjust the selected orcreated network in at least one of the following manners: modifying atopology structure of the selected or created network; adjusting atransport network between network components in the selected or creatednetwork; replacing a network component in the selected or creatednetwork with a new network component; upgrading a network component inthe selected or created network; and configuring a network component inthe network. The configuring a network component may include: when thenetwork component in the network is a base station or a wireless networkincluding a base station, configuring an antenna of the base station,configuring an optimization policy (including a handover policy and thelike) of the base station, adding a resource, or the like.

In this embodiment of this application, when performing exceptionprocessing, the first management device may send a network performanceassurance exception notification to the second management device, tonotify the second management device that the current target networkcannot meet the network performance assurance information in the targetnetwork management request.

In another possible implementation, the first management device mayconfigure the network performance assurance information in the targetnetwork or management information of the target network, so that thetarget network meets the configured network performance assuranceinformation. Specifically, configuring the network performance assuranceinformation in the target network may be understood as follows: Thefirst management device stores the network performance assuranceinformation in the target network or sends the network performanceassurance information to the target network. Configuring the networkperformance assurance information in the management information of thetarget network may be understood as follows: The first management devicestores the network performance assurance information in the managementinformation of the target network.

In this embodiment of this application, if the network performanceassurance information includes the network performance assurancegranularity, the first management device may configure the networkperformance assurance granularity in the target network or in themanagement information of the target network. For example, the firstmanagement device sets a latency of each terminal to be less than 5 ms.That the first management device sets, in the target network or in themanagement information of the target network, the latency of eachterminal to be less than 5 ms may be understood as follows: It needs tobe assured that a latency of accessing a network by each terminal isless than 5 ms when the target network is running. In this embodiment ofthis application, if the network performance assurance informationincludes the network performance assurance condition, the firstmanagement device may configure the network performance assurancecondition in the target network or in the management information of thetarget network. For example, the first management device sets a latencyof each of 80% of terminals to be less than 5 ms. That the firstmanagement device sets, in the target network or in the managementinformation of the target network, a latency of each of 80% of terminalsis less than 5 ms may be understood as follows: It needs to be assuredthat a latency of each of 80% of terminals accessing the network is lessthan 5 ms when the target network is running.

In this embodiment of this application, after configuring the networkperformance assurance information in the target network or in themanagement information of the target network, the first managementdevice may perform, in a process in which the target network providedwith the network performance assurance information runs, performanceevaluation on the target network provided with the network performanceassurance information. In other words, the first management devicedetermines whether the target network provided with the networkperformance assurance information meets the network performanceassurance information in the target network management request in therunning process. In this embodiment of this application, if the firstmanagement device determines that the target network provided with thenetwork performance assurance information does not meet the networkperformance assurance information in the target network managementrequest in the running process, the first management device performsexception processing on the target network. A process in which the firstmanagement device performs exception processing on the target network issimilar to a process in which the first management device performsexception processing on the selected or created network. Details are notdescribed herein in this embodiment of this application.

It can be understood that, in this embodiment of this application, thefirst management device may be a DM, and the second management devicemay be an NM; or the first management device may be an NM, or a DM andan NM, and the second management device may be the SMF.

In this embodiment of this application, when the first management deviceis the DM, the target network management request received by the firstmanagement device may be a network slice subnet request, the networkslice subnet request includes network performance assurance informationof a network slice subnet, the network performance assurance informationof the network slice subnet may include at least one of a performanceassurance granularity of the network slice subnet, a performanceassurance condition of the network slice subnet, and an applicablecondition of the network performance assurance information of thenetwork slice subnet. The first management device may manage the networkslice subnet based on the network performance assurance information ofthe network slice subnet. In this embodiment of this application, whenthe first management device is the NM, the target network managementrequest received by the first management device may be a network slicerequest, the network slice request includes network performanceassurance information of a network slice, the network performanceassurance information may include at least one of a performanceassurance granularity of the network slice, a performance assurancecondition of the network slice, and an applicable condition of thenetwork performance assurance information of the network slice. Thefirst management device may manage the network slice based on thenetwork performance assurance information of the network slice. In thisembodiment of this application, when the first management device is theDM and the NM, the target network management request received by the NMin the first management device may be a network slice request, and theNM in the first management device may determine a network slice subnetrequest based on the network slice request, and send the network slicesubnet request to the DM.

In another possible implementation, the first management device mayadjust the target network, so that an adjusted network can meet thenetwork performance assurance information. Specifically, in thisembodiment of this application, the first management device may adjustthe selected or created network in at least one of the followingmanners: modifying a topology structure of the selected or creatednetwork; adjusting a transport network between network components in theselected or created network; replacing a network component in theselected or created network with a new network component; upgrading anetwork component in the selected or created network; and configuring anetwork component in the network. The configuring a network componentmay include: when the network component in the network is a base stationor a wireless network including a base station, configuring an antennaof the base station, configuring an optimization policy (including ahandover policy and the like) of the base station, adding a resource, orthe like.

In this embodiment of this application, an example in which the firstmanagement device includes an NM and a DM, the second management deviceis an SMF, and the target network is a network slice subnet is usedbelow to describe the network performance assurance method in theforegoing embodiment. In this embodiment of this application, when thefirst management device includes the NM and the DM, and the secondmanagement device is the SMF, FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a networkperformance assurance process. The network performance assuranceimplementation process shown in FIG. 3 mainly includes the followingsteps.

S201. The SMF receives a service request, where the service requestincludes service performance assurance information, and the serviceperformance assurance information includes at least one of a serviceperformance assurance granularity, a service performance assuranceprobability, and an applicable service performance assurance condition.

For the service performance assurance information included in theservice request received by the SMF, refer to a process in which thesecond management device receives the service request in the foregoingembodiment. Details are not described herein again.

S202. The SMF determines network performance assurance information of anetwork slice based on the service performance assurance informationincluded in the service request.

For a process in which the SMF determines the network performanceassurance information of the network slice, refer to the descriptions ofa process in which the second management device determines the targetnetwork management request in the foregoing embodiment. Details are notdescribed herein again.

S203. The SMF sends a network slice request to the NM, where the networkslice request includes the network performance assurance information ofthe network slice, and the network performance assurance information ofthe network slice includes at least one of an applicable condition ofthe network performance assurance information of the network slice, anetwork performance assurance granularity of the network slice, and anetwork performance assurance probability of the network slice.

S204. The NM manages the network slice based on the network performanceassurance information of the network slice, and determines networkperformance assurance information of a corresponding network slicesubnet based on the network performance assurance information of thenetwork slice.

In this embodiment of this application, when the NM manages the networkslice based on the network performance assurance information of thenetwork slice, if the network slice includes at least one network slicesubnet, the NM may determine the network performance assuranceinformation of the corresponding network slice subnet based on thenetwork performance assurance information of the network slice. Thenetwork performance assurance information of the network slice subnetmay include at least one of a performance assurance granularity of thenetwork slice subnet, a performance assurance condition of the networkslice subnet, and an applicable condition of the network performanceassurance information of the network slice subnet.

Specifically, when determining the network performance assuranceinformation of the corresponding network slice subnet based on thenetwork performance assurance information of the network slice, the NMmay perform determining in different manners based on specificcomposition of the network slice subnet. For example, when the networkslice subnet includes a core network, an access network, and a transportnetwork, the NM may determine that the network performance assuranceinformation of the network slice is the network performance assuranceinformation of the network slice subnet. When the network slice subnetincludes one or two of a core network, an access network, and atransport network, the NM may decompose the network slice performanceassurance information into network slice subnet performance assuranceinformation. For example, a subnet 1 includes only an access network, asubnet 2 includes only an access network, and a subnet 3 includes only atransport network. If the network performance assurance information ofthe network slice includes latency assurance, the NM may separatelyallocate a latency to the subnet 1, the subnet 2, and the subnet 3, sothat a sum of the latency of the subnet 1, the latency of the subnet 2,and the latency of the subnet 3 is equal to a latency of the networkslice. If the network performance assurance information of the networkslice includes invocation success rate assurance, the NM may separatelyallocate an invocation success rate to the subnet 1, the subnet 2, andthe subnet 3, so that a product of the invocation success rate of thesubnet 1, the invocation success rate of the subnet 2, and theinvocation success rate of the subnet 3 is equal to an invocationsuccess rate of the network slice.

S205. The NM determines the network performance assurance information ofthe network slice subnet, and sends a network slice subnet requestincluding the network performance assurance information of the networkslice subnet to the DM.

In this embodiment of this application, the network performanceassurance information of the network slice subnet may include the atleast one of the performance assurance granularity of the network slicesubnet, the performance assurance condition of the network slice subnet,and the applicable condition corresponding to the network performanceassurance information of the network slice subnet.

S206. The DM receives the network slice subnet request sent by the NM,and manages the network slice subnet based on the network performanceassurance information of the network slice subnet included in thenetwork slice subnet request.

Specifically, based on the network performance assurance information ofthe network slice subnet, the DM may select a corresponding networkfunction to constitute the network slice subnet, or configure thenetwork performance assurance information of the network slice subnet,or adjust the network slice subnet. The DM may further determine whetherthe network performance assurance information corresponding to thenetwork slice subnet meets the network performance assurance informationof the network slice subnet in the network slice subnet request in arunning process of the network slice subnet. When the networkperformance assurance information does not meet the network performanceassurance information of the network slice subnet in the network slicesubnet request in the running process of the network slice subnet, theDM adjusts the network slice subnet, so that an adjusted network slicesubnet meets the network performance assurance information of thenetwork slice subnet; or the DM sends a network performance assuranceexception notification to the NM, and the NM sends the networkperformance assurance exception notification to the SMF, so that the SMFdetermines that a network performance assurance exception occurs in thenetwork slice subnet.

In this embodiment of this application, the target network managementrequest sent by the second management device to the first managementdevice includes the at least one of the network performance assurancegranularity, the network performance assurance condition, and theapplicable condition corresponding to the network performance assuranceinformation. This can lower a performance requirement for managing thetarget network by the first management device, increase a networkperformance evaluation pass probability, and reduce an exceptionprocessing probability. In addition, in this embodiment of thisapplication, the applicable condition of the network performanceassurance information, the network performance assurance granularity,and the network performance assurance condition are introduced into thenetwork performance assurance information. Different network performanceassurance information may be determined based on different scenarios, toperform different network performance assurance, so that networkperformance assurance is more flexible.

In another embodiment of this application, the first management devicemay send network performance assurance capability information supportedby the target network to the second management device. After receivingthe network performance assurance capability information supported bythe target network that is sent by the first management device, thesecond management device may determine the network performance assuranceinformation in the target network management request based on thenetwork performance assurance capability information supported by thetarget network, so that the determined network performance assuranceinformation can be supported by the target network.

FIG. 4 is an implementation flowchart of another network performanceassurance method according to an embodiment of this application. In amethod procedure shown in FIG. 4, execution steps S302, S303, and S304are similar to execution steps S101, S102, and S103 in FIG. 2. Detailsare not described herein again. The following describes only differentimplementation steps.

S301. A first management device sends at least one piece of networkperformance assurance capability information supported by a targetnetwork to a second management device, and the second management devicereceives the at least one piece of network performance assurancecapability information supported by the target network that is sent bythe first management device.

In this embodiment of this application, the network performanceassurance capability information supported by the target network mayinclude network performance assurance information of the target network,for example, may include at least one of a network performance assurancegranularity supported by the target network and a network performanceassurance condition supported by the target network. The networkperformance assurance capability information supported by the targetnetwork may further include an applicable condition corresponding to thenetwork performance assurance capability information supported by thetarget network.

In this embodiment of this application, the second management device maydetermine the network performance assurance information based on the atleast one piece of received network performance assurance capabilityinformation supported by the target network. For example, the secondmanagement device may select one or more pieces of the at least onepiece of network performance assurance capability information supportedby the target network, to serve as the network performance assuranceinformation of the target network.

In a possible implementation, before sending the at least one piece ofnetwork performance assurance capability information supported by thetarget network to the second management device, the first managementdevice may obtain a network template corresponding to the targetnetwork. The network template corresponding to the target network isused to deploy a network component in the target network, and may alsobe referred to as a network component template. The network templateincludes the at least one piece of network performance assurancecapability information supported by the target network. After obtainingthe network template corresponding to the target network, the firstmanagement device may determine, based on the at least one piece ofnetwork performance assurance capability information included in thenetwork template, the network performance assurance capabilityinformation supported by the target network.

It can be understood that the target network in this embodiment of thisapplication may be a network slice. If the target network is the networkslice, the network template may be understood as a network slicetemplate.

It can be further understood that, in this embodiment of thisapplication, the first management device may be a DM, and the secondmanagement device may be an NM; or the first management device may be anNM, or a DM and an NM, and the second management device may be an SMF.

In this embodiment of this application, an example in which the firstmanagement device includes an NM and a DM, the second management deviceis an SMF, and the target network is a network slice subnet is stillused for description. For a specific implementation process, refer toFIG. 5.

S401. The NM sends, to the DM, a request for querying networkperformance assurance capability information supported by the networkslice subnet, and the DM receives the request that is for querying thenetwork performance assurance capability information and that is sent bythe NM.

S401 is an optional step.

S402. The DM sends at least one piece of network performance assurancecapability information supported by the network slice subnet to the NM.

The network performance assurance capability information supported bythe network slice subnet may be understood as network performanceassurance capability information of a network component in the networkslice subnet.

In a possible example, the DM obtains a network slice subnet template,and the network slice subnet template includes the at least one piece ofnetwork performance assurance capability information supported by thenetwork slice subnet.

S403. The NM receives the at least one piece of network performanceassurance capability information supported by the network slice subnetthat is sent by the DM, and determines network performance assurancecapability information of a network slice based on the at least onepiece of network performance assurance capability information supportedby the network slice subnet.

In this embodiment of this application, the NM may determine that the atleast one piece of network performance assurance capability informationsupported by the network slice subnet is the network performanceassurance capability information of the network slice. For example, whenthe network slice subnet includes an AN, a CN, and a TN, and networkperformance is a latency, the NM may use a latency assurance capabilityof the network slice subnet as a latency assurance capability of thenetwork slice. The NM may further determine that the network performanceassurance capability of the network slice subnet is the networkperformance assurance capability of the network slice. For example, thenetwork slice subnet includes a subnet 1, a subnet 2, and a subnet 3.The subnet 1 includes only an AN, and network assurance capabilityinformation is a terminal assurance granularity. The subnet 2 includesonly a CN, and network assurance capability information is a terminalassurance granularity. The subnet 3 includes only a TN, and networkassurance capability information is a cell assurance granularity. Inthis case, the NM may determine that network assurance capabilityinformation of the network slice is the cell assurance granularity. Foranother example, the network slice subnet includes a subnet 1, a subnet2, and a subnet 3. The subnet 1 includes only an AN, network assurancecapability information is a network performance assurance condition, andthe network performance assurance condition is that 90% of terminalsmeet network performance. The subnet 2 includes only a CN, networkassurance capability information is a network performance assurancecondition, and the network performance assurance condition is that 90%of terminals meet the network performance. The subnet 3 includes only aTN, network assurance capability information is a network performanceassurance condition, and the network performance assurance condition isthat 95% of terminals meet the network performance. In this case, the NMmay determine the network assurance capability information of thenetwork slice as a network performance assurance condition, and thenetwork performance assurance condition is that 90%*90%*95% of terminalsmeet the network performance. For another example, the network slicesubnet includes a subnet 1 and a subnet 2. The subnet 1 includes an ANand a CN, network assurance capability information is a networkperformance assurance condition, and the network performance assurancecondition is that 80% or 90% of terminals meet network performance. Thesubnet 2 includes only a TN, network assurance capability information isa network performance assurance condition, and the network performanceassurance condition is that 92% or 95% of terminals meet the networkperformance. In this case, the NM may determine the network assurancecapability information of the network slice as a network performanceassurance condition, and the network performance assurance condition maybe that 80%×92% of terminals meet the network performance, or 80%×95% ofterminals meet the network performance, or 90%×92% of terminals meet thenetwork performance, or 90%×95% of terminals meet the networkperformance.

In a possible embodiment, the NM may obtain, by reading a network slicetemplate, at least one piece of network performance assurance capabilityinformation supported by the network slice.

S404. The SMF sends, to the NM, a request for querying the networkperformance assurance capability information supported by the networkslice, and the NM receives the request that is for querying the networkperformance assurance capability information supported by the networkslice and that is sent by the SMF.

S404 is an optional step.

S405. The NM sends the at least one piece of network performanceassurance capability information supported by the network slice to theSMF.

S406. The SMF determines service performance assurance capabilityinformation of a service, where the service is provided by the networkslice.

Specifically, the SMF may select network performance assurancecapability information from the at least one piece of networkperformance assurance capability information supported by the networkslice, and use the selected network performance assurance capabilityinformation as the service performance assurance capability informationof the service, or convert the selected network performance assurancecapability information into the service performance assurance capabilityinformation of the service.

S407. The SMF sends the determined service performance assurancecapability information to a user.

In this embodiment of this application, after determining the serviceperformance assurance capability information, the SMF may send theservice performance assurance capability information to the user; theuser determines service performance assurance information in a servicerequest based on the service performance assurance capabilityinformation, and sends the service request including the serviceperformance assurance information to the SMF; and the SMF may performstep S201 after receiving the service request. In this embodiment ofthis application, for an implementation process in which the SMFperforms network performance assurance after receiving the servicerequest, refer to the implementation process shown in FIG. 3. Detailsare not described in this embodiment of this application again.

In this embodiment of this application, the first management devicesends the at least one piece of network performance assurance capabilityinformation supported by the target network to the second managementdevice. After receiving the at least one piece of network performanceassurance capability information supported by the target network that issent by the first management device, the second management device maydetermine the network performance assurance information in the targetnetwork management request based on the at least one piece of networkperformance assurance capability information supported by the targetnetwork, so that the determined network performance assuranceinformation can be supported by the target network.

The foregoing mainly describes the solutions provided in the embodimentsof this application from the perspective of interaction between thefirst management device and the second management device. It can beunderstood that, to implement the foregoing functions, the firstmanagement device and the second management device include correspondinghardware structures and/or software units for performing the functions.With reference to the units and algorithm steps described in theembodiments disclosed in this application, the embodiments of thisapplication can be implemented in a form of hardware or hardware andcomputer software. Whether a function is performed by hardware orhardware driven by computer software depends on particular applicationsand design constraints of the technical solutions. A person skilled inthe art may use different methods to implement the described functionsfor each particular application, but it should not be considered thatthe implementation falls beyond the scope of the technical solutions inthe embodiments of this application.

In the embodiments of this application, functional units of the firstmanagement device and the second management device may be obtainedthrough division based on the foregoing method examples. For example,each functional unit may be obtained through division based on eachcorresponding function, or two or more functions may be integrated intoone processing unit. The integrated unit may be implemented in a form ofhardware, or may be implemented in a form of a software functional unit.It should be noted that, in the embodiments of this application, unitdivision is an example, and is merely a logical function division.During actual implementation, another division manner may be used.

Based on a same concept as the foregoing method embodiment, anembodiment of this application provides a network performance assuranceapparatus.

When an integrated unit is used, FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of apossible logical structure of a network performance assurance apparatus.The network performance assurance apparatus may be applied to a firstmanagement device. As shown in FIG. 6, a network performance assuranceapparatus 100 includes a receiving unit 101 and a processing unit 102.The receiving unit 101 is configured to receive a target networkmanagement request sent by a second management device, where the targetnetwork management request includes network performance assuranceinformation of the target network, the network performance assuranceinformation includes at least one of a network performance assurancegranularity and a network performance assurance condition, the networkperformance assurance granularity is used to describe a networkperformance assurance object of the target network, and the networkperformance assurance condition is used to describe a probability that anetwork performance assurance object meets network performance. Theprocessing unit 102 is configured to manage the target network based onthe network performance assurance information included in the targetnetwork management request received by the receiving unit 101.Specifically, the processing unit 102 may adjust the target networkbased on the network performance assurance information, so that anadjusted target network can meet the network performance assuranceinformation.

The network performance assurance object includes at least one of aterminal, a cell, a region, a terminal group, and a tenant. Theprobability that a network performance assurance object meets networkperformance includes at least one of the following proportions: aproportion of network performance assurance objects that meet thenetwork performance in all network performance assurance objects, and aproportion of a usage time in which service performance is met in aservice usage process of the network performance assurance object in atotal time.

In a possible embodiment, the target network management request furtherincludes an applicable condition corresponding to the networkperformance assurance information.

In a possible embodiment, the processing unit 102 may manage the targetnetwork based on the network performance assurance information in thefollowing manner:

selecting or creating a network that meets the network performanceassurance information, to serve as the target network; or configuringthe network performance assurance information in the target network orin management information of the target network, so that the targetnetwork meets the network performance assurance information.

After selecting or creating the network that meets the networkperformance assurance information, to serve as the target network, theprocessing unit 102 may further determine whether the selected orcreated network meets the network performance assurance information in arunning process. If determining that the selected or created networkdoes not meet the network performance assurance information in therunning process, the processing unit 102 performs exception processing.

After configuring the network performance assurance information in thetarget network or in the management information of the target network,the processing unit 102 may further determine whether the target networkin which the network performance assurance information is configuredmeets the network performance assurance information in a runningprocess. If determining that the target network in which the networkperformance assurance information is configured does not meet thenetwork performance assurance information in the running process, theprocessing unit 102 performs exception processing.

Specifically, the processing unit 102 performs exception processing inthe following manners: adjusting the network, so that an adjustednetwork meets the network performance assurance information, or sendinga network performance assurance exception notification to the secondmanagement device.

The adjusting the network includes at least one of the followingoperations: modifying a topology structure of the network; adjusting atransport network between network components in the network; replacing anetwork component in the network with a new network component; upgradinga network component in the network; and configuring a network componentin the network. The configuring a network component in the network mayinclude: when the network component in the network is a base station ora wireless network including a base station, configuring an antenna ofthe base station, configuring an optimization policy (including ahandover policy and the like) of the base station, adding a resource, orthe like.

In another possible embodiment, the network performance assuranceapparatus applied to the first management device further includes asending unit 103. The sending unit 103 is configured to: before thereceiving unit 101 receives the target network management request sentby the second management device, send at least one piece of networkperformance assurance capability information supported by the targetnetwork to the second management device, where the at least one piece ofnetwork performance assurance capability information supported by thetarget network includes the network performance assurance information.

The receiving unit 101 is further configured to: before the sending unit103 sends the network performance assurance capability informationsupported by the target network to the second management device, obtaina network template corresponding to the target network, where thenetwork template includes the at least one piece of network performanceassurance capability information supported by the target network. Theprocessing unit 102 determines, based on the network template, the atleast one piece of network performance assurance capability informationsupported by the target network.

When a hardware form is used for implementation, in this embodiment ofthis application, the receiving unit 101 may be an input interface, theprocessing unit 102 may be a processor or a controller, and the sendingunit 103 may be an output interface. The output interface and the inputinterface are collective names, and may include one or more interfaces.

When the receiving unit 101 is an input interface, the processing unit102 is a processor, and the sending unit 103 is an output interface, thenetwork performance assurance apparatus 100 in this embodiment of thisapplication may be a first management device shown in FIG. 7.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a first management device 1000according to an embodiment of this application. In other words, it canbe understood that FIG. 7 is another schematic structural diagram of anetwork performance assurance apparatus applied to a first managementdevice. The first management device 1000 may be configured to performthe method performed by the first management device in FIG. 2 or FIG. 5.As shown in FIG. 7, the first management device 1000 includes an inputinterface 1001, an output interface 1002, a processor 1003, and a memory1004. The input interface 1001, the output interface 1002, the processor1003, and the memory 1004 may be connected to each other by using a bussystem 1005.

The memory 1004 is configured to store a program, an instruction, orcode. The processor 1003 is configured to execute the program in thememory 1004, to control the input interface 1001 to receive a targetnetwork management request, and to control the output interface 1002 tosend network performance assurance capability information supported by atarget network and implement steps and functions implemented by thefirst management device in the foregoing implementations. Details arenot described herein again. For specific implementations of the inputinterface 1001, the output interface 1002, and the processor 1003, referto specific descriptions of the receiving unit 101, the processing unit102, and the sending unit 103 in the foregoing implementations in FIG. 6correspondingly. Details are not described herein again.

Based on a same concept as the foregoing method embodiment, anembodiment of this application further provides another networkperformance assurance apparatus.

When an integrated unit is used, FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of apossible logical structure of a network performance assurance apparatus.The network performance assurance apparatus may be applied to a secondmanagement device. As shown in FIG. 8, a network performance assuranceapparatus 200 includes a processing unit 201 and a sending unit 202. Theprocessing unit 201 is configured to determine network performanceassurance information of a target network, where the network performanceassurance information includes at least one of a network performanceassurance granularity and a network performance assurance condition, thenetwork performance assurance granularity is used to describe a networkperformance assurance object of the target network, and the networkperformance assurance condition is used to describe a probability that anetwork performance assurance object meets network performance. Thesending unit 202 is configured to send a target network managementrequest to a first management device, where the target networkmanagement request includes the network performance assuranceinformation of the target network determined by the processing unit 201.

The target network management request further includes an applicablecondition corresponding to the network performance assuranceinformation.

Specifically, the network performance assurance object includes at leastone of a terminal, a cell, a region, a terminal group, and a tenant. Theprobability that a network performance assurance object meets networkperformance includes at least one of the following proportions: aproportion of network performance assurance objects that meet thenetwork performance in all network performance assurance objects, and aproportion of a usage time in which service performance is met in aservice usage process of the network performance assurance object in atotal time. Optionally, the network performance assurance condition maybe alternatively used to describe a probability that a networkperformance assurance object does not meet network performance, forexample, a proportion of network performance assurance objects that donot meet the network performance in all network performance assuranceobjects, or a proportion of a usage time in which service performance isnot met in a service usage process of the network performance assuranceobject in a total time.

In a possible implementation, the network performance assuranceapparatus applied to the second management device further includes areceiving unit 203. The receiving unit 203 is configured to: before theprocessing unit 201 determines the network performance assuranceinformation of the target network, receive at least one piece of networkperformance assurance capability information supported by the targetnetwork that is sent by the first management device, where the at leastone piece of network performance assurance capability informationsupported by the target network includes the network performanceassurance information.

Specifically, the processing unit 201 determines the network performanceassurance information of the target network in the following manner:determining the network performance assurance information based on theat least one piece of network performance assurance capabilityinformation supported by the target network.

In a possible implementation, the network performance assuranceapparatus applied to the second management device further includes thereceiving unit 203. The receiving unit 203 is configured to receive aservice request, where the service request includes service performanceassurance information, the service performance assurance informationincludes at least one of a service performance assurance granularity anda service performance assurance condition, the service performanceassurance granularity is used to describe a service performanceassurance object of the target network, and the service performanceassurance condition is used to describe a probability that a serviceperformance assurance object meets service performance. The processingunit 201 determines the network performance assurance information of thetarget network based on the service performance assurance information.

When a hardware form is used for implementation, in this embodiment ofthis application, the receiving unit 203 may be an input interface, theprocessing unit 201 may be a processor or a controller, and the sendingunit 202 may be an output interface. The output interface and the inputinterface are collective names, and may include one or more interfaces.

When the receiving unit 203 is an input interface, the processing unit201 is a processor, and the sending unit 202 is an output interface, thenetwork performance assurance apparatus 200 in this embodiment of thisapplication may be a second management device shown in FIG. 9.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a second management device 2000according to an embodiment of this application. In other words, it canbe understood that FIG. 9 is another schematic structural diagram of anetwork performance assurance apparatus applied to a second managementdevice. The second management device 2000 may be configured to performthe method performed by the second management device in FIG. 2 or FIG.5. As shown in FIG. 9, the second management device 2000 includes aninput interface 2001, an output interface 2002, a processor 2003, and amemory 2004. The input interface 2001, the output interface 2002, theprocessor 2003, and the memory 2004 may be connected to each other byusing a bus system 2005.

The memory 2004 is configured to store a program, an instruction, orcode. The processor 2003 is configured to execute the program in thememory 2004, to control the input interface 2001 to receive networkperformance assurance capability information supported by a targetnetwork, and to control the output interface 2002 to send a targetnetwork management request and implement steps and functions implementedby the second management device in the foregoing implementations.Details are not described herein again. For specific implementations ofthe input interface 2001, the output interface 2002, and the processor2003, refer to specific descriptions of the processing unit 201, thesending unit 202, and the receiving unit 203 in the foregoingimplementations in FIG. 8 correspondingly. Details are not describedherein again.

It can be understood that FIG. 7 and FIG. 9 show merely simplifieddesigns of the first management device and the second management device.During actual application, the first management device and the secondmanagement device are not limited to the foregoing structures. Duringactual application, the first management device and the secondmanagement device each may include any quantity of interfaces,processors, memories, and the like, and all terminals that can implementthe embodiments of this application shall fall within the protectionscope of the embodiments of this application.

It can be further understood that the network performance assuranceapparatus 100, the first management device 1000, the network performanceassurance apparatus 200, and the second management device 2000 in theembodiments of this application may be configured to implement thecorresponding functions of the first management device and the secondmanagement device in the foregoing method embodiments in the embodimentsof this application. Therefore, for a part that is not described indetail in the embodiments of this application, refer to relateddescriptions in the method embodiments. Details are not described in theembodiments of this application again.

It should be further understood that, in the embodiments of thisapplication, the processor may be a central processing unit (CPU), ormay be another general purpose processor, a digital signal processor(DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA) or another programmable logic device, adiscrete gate or transistor logic device, a discrete hardware component,or the like. The general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, orthe processor may be any conventional processor or the like.

The memory may include a read-only memory and a random access memory,and provide the processor with an instruction and data. A part of thememory may further include a nonvolatile random access memory. Forexample, the memory may further store information of a device type.

In addition to a data bus, the bus system may further include a powerbus, a control bus, a status signal bus, and the like. However, forclear description, various buses in the figures are marked as the bussystem.

In an implementation process, the steps in the foregoing methodembodiments can be implemented by using an integrated logic circuit ofhardware in the processor, or by using an instruction in a form ofsoftware. The steps of the network performance assurance methodsdisclosed with reference to the embodiments of this application may bedirectly performed by a hardware processor, or may be performed by usinga combination of hardware in the processor and a software module. Thesoftware module may be located in a mature storage medium in the art,such as a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, aprogrammable read-only memory, an electrically erasable programmablememory, or a register. The storage medium is located in the memory. Theprocessor reads information from the memory and completes the steps inthe foregoing methods in combination with hardware of the processor. Toavoid repetition, details are not described herein again.

An embodiment of this application provides a communications system. Thecommunications system includes the foregoing network performanceassurance apparatus applied to the first management device and theforegoing network performance assurance apparatus applied to the secondmanagement device.

An embodiment of this application provides a computer readable storagemedium. The computer readable storage medium stores a computerinstruction, and when the instruction is run on a computer, any methodperformed by the first management device or the second management devicein the foregoing embodiments can be completed.

An embodiment of this application provides a computer program product.The computer program product includes a computer program, and thecomputer program is used to perform any method performed by the firstmanagement device or the second management device in the foregoingembodiments.

An embodiment of this application further provides a chip. The chip iscoupled to a transceiver in a first management device or a secondmanagement device, and is configured to perform the technical solutionin any possible design provided in the first aspect of the embodimentsof this application. It should be understood that “coupling” in theembodiments of this application means that two components are directlyor indirectly combined with each other. Such a combination may be fixedor mobile, and the combination may allow fluid, electricity, electricalsignals, or other types of signals to communicate between the twocomponents.

According to the network performance assurance method and apparatusprovided in the embodiments of this application, the network performanceassurance information includes the at least one of the networkperformance assurance granularity and the network performance assurancecondition. Therefore, it may not be necessary to assure performance ofterminals in the entire network provided that the network performance ofthe target network meets the network performance assurance granularityand/or the network performance assurance condition included in thenetwork performance assurance information. This can lower a networkdevice performance requirement, increase a network performanceevaluation pass rate, and reduce an exception processing probability.

A person skilled in the art should understand that the embodiments ofthis application may be provided as a method, a system, or a computerprogram product. Therefore, the embodiments of this application may usea form of hardware only embodiments, software only embodiments, orembodiments with a combination of software and hardware. Moreover, theembodiments of this application may use a form of a computer programproduct that is implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media(including but not limited to a disk memory, a CD-ROM, an opticalmemory, and the like) that include computer-usable program code.

The embodiments of this application are described with reference to theflowcharts and/or block diagrams of the method, the device (system), andthe computer program product according to the embodiments of thisapplication. It should be understood that computer program instructionsmay be used to implement each process and/or each block in theflowcharts and/or the block diagrams and a combination of a processand/or a block in the flowcharts and/or the block diagrams. Thesecomputer program instructions may be provided for a general-purposecomputer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or aprocessor of any other programmable data processing device to generate amachine, so that the instructions executed by a computer or a processorof any other programmable data processing device generate an apparatusfor implementing a specific function in one or more processes in theflowcharts and/or in one or more blocks in the block diagrams.

These computer program instructions may be stored in a computer readablememory that can instruct the computer or any other programmable dataprocessing device to work in a specific manner, so that the instructionsstored in the computer readable memory generate an artifact thatincludes an instruction apparatus. The instruction apparatus implementsa specific function in one or more processes in the flowcharts and/or inone or more blocks in the block diagrams.

These computer program instructions may be loaded onto a computer oranother programmable data processing device, so that a series ofoperations and steps are performed on the computer or the anotherprogrammable device, thereby generating computer-implemented processing.Therefore, the instructions executed on the computer or the anotherprogrammable device provide steps for implementing a specific functionin one or more processes in the flowcharts and/or in one or more blocksin the block diagrams.

Obviously, a person skilled in the art can make various modificationsand variations to the embodiments of this application without departingfrom the spirit and scope of this application. This application isintended to cover these modifications and variations provided that theyfall within the scope of protection defined by the following claims andtheir equivalent technologies.

What is claimed is:
 1. A network performance assurance method,comprising: receiving, by a first management device, a target networkmanagement request sent by a second management device, wherein thetarget network management request comprises network performanceassurance information of a target network, the network performanceassurance information comprises at least one of a network performanceassurance granularity or a network performance assurance condition,wherein the network performance assurance granularity includes at leastone of terminal, cell, region, terminal group, or tenant; and managing,by the first management device, the target network based on the networkperformance assurance information, wherein the network performanceassurance condition describes at least one of the following: aproportion of terminal in which the network performance is met; aproportion of a usage time in which service performance is met in aservice usage process in a total time; a proportion of terminal in whichthe network performance is not met; or a proportion of a usage time inwhich service performance is not met in a service usage process in atotal time.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the managing, bythe first management device, the target network based on the networkperformance assurance information comprises: selecting, by the firstmanagement device, a network that meets the network performanceassurance information, to serve as the target network.
 3. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the managing, by the first managementdevice, the target network based on the network performance assuranceinformation comprises: creating, by the first management device, anetwork that meets the network performance assurance information, toserve as the target network.
 4. The method according to claim 1, whereinthe managing, by the first management device, the target network basedon the network performance assurance information comprises: configuring,by the first management device, the network performance assuranceinformation in the target network or in management information of thetarget network, so that the target network meets the network performanceassurance information.
 5. The method according to claim 1, aftermanaging, by the first management device, the target network based onthe network performance assurance information, further comprising:performing, by the first management device, exception processing if thefirst management device determines that the target network does not meetthe network performance assurance information in a running process. 6.The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprising:determining, by the second management device, the network performanceassurance information of the target network; and sending, by the secondmanagement device, the target network management request to the firstmanagement device.
 7. A network performance assurance apparatus appliedto a first management device, comprising: a processor; and a memorycoupled to the processor and storing instructions that, when executed bythe processor, cause the network performance assurance apparatus to:receive a target network management request sent by a second managementdevice, wherein the target network management request comprises networkperformance assurance information of a target network, the networkperformance assurance information comprises at least one of a networkperformance assurance granularity and a network performance assurancecondition; and manage the target network based on the networkperformance assurance information comprised in the target networkmanagement request, wherein the network performance assurancegranularity includes at least one of terminal, cell, region, terminalgroup, or tenant, and wherein the network performance assurancecondition describes at least one of the following: a proportion ofterminal in which the network performance is met; a proportion of ausage time in which service performance is met in a service usageprocess in a total time; a proportion of terminal in which the networkperformance is not met; or a proportion of a usage time in which serviceperformance is not met in a service usage process in a total time. 8.The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the instructions cause thenetwork performance assurance apparatus to: select a network that meetsthe network performance assurance information, to serve as the targetnetwork.
 9. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the instructionscause the network performance assurance apparatus to: create a networkthat meets the network performance assurance information, to serve asthe target network.
 10. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein theinstructions cause the network performance assurance apparatus to:configure the network performance assurance information in the targetnetwork or in management information of the target network, so that thetarget network meets the network performance assurance information. 11.The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the instructions furthercause the network performance assurance apparatus to: after managing thetarget network based on the network performance assurance informationcomprised in the target network management request, perform exceptionprocessing if the target network does not meet the network performanceassurance information in a running process.
 12. A system for assuringnetwork performance, comprising a first management device and a secondmanagement device, wherein the second management device is configuredto: determine network performance assurance information of a targetnetwork, the network performance assurance information comprises atleast one of a network performance assurance granularity and a networkperformance assurance condition; and send a target network managementrequest to the first management device, and the target networkmanagement request comprises the network performance assuranceinformation of the target network; and the first management device isconfigured to: receive the target network management request; and managethe target network based on the network performance assuranceinformation, wherein the network performance assurance granularityincludes at least one of terminal, cell, region, terminal group, ortenant, and wherein the network performance assurance conditiondescribes at least one of the following: a proportion of terminal inwhich the network performance is met; a proportion of a usage time inwhich service performance is met in a service usage process in a totaltime; a proportion of terminal in which the network performance is notmet; or a proportion of a usage time in which service performance is notmet in a service usage process in a total time.
 13. The system accordingto claim 12, wherein the first management device is configured to:select a network that meets the network performance assuranceinformation, to serve as the target network.
 14. The system according toclaim 12, wherein the first management device is configured to: create anetwork that meets the network performance assurance information, toserve as the target network.
 15. The method according to claim 12,wherein the first management device is configured to: configure thenetwork performance assurance information in the target network or inmanagement information of the target network, so that the target networkmeets the network performance assurance information.
 16. The methodaccording to claim 13, wherein the first management device is furtherconfigured to: perform exception processing if the first managementdevice determines that the target network does not meet the networkperformance assurance information in a running process.
 17. A networkperformance assurance apparatus applied to a second management device,comprising: a processor; and a memory coupled to the processor andstoring instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause thenetwork performance assurance apparatus to: determine networkperformance assurance information of a target network, the networkperformance assurance information comprises at least one of a networkperformance assurance granularity and a network performance assurancecondition; and send a target network management request to a firstmanagement device, and the target network management request comprisesthe network performance assurance information of the target network,wherein the network performance assurance granularity includes at leastone of terminal, cell, region, terminal group, or tenant, and whereinthe network performance assurance condition describes at least one ofthe following: a proportion of terminal in which the network performanceis met; a proportion of a usage time in which service performance is metin a service usage process in a total time; a proportion of terminal inwhich the network performance is not met; or a proportion of a usagetime in which service performance is not met in a service usage processin a total time.
 18. The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein thetarget network management request further comprises an applicablecondition corresponding to the network performance assuranceinformation.
 19. A network performance assurance method, comprising:determining, by a second management device, network performanceassurance information of a target network, the network performanceassurance information comprises at least one of a network performanceassurance granularity and a network performance assurance condition; andsending, by the second management device, a target network managementrequest to a first management device, and the target network managementrequest comprises the network performance assurance information of thetarget network, wherein the network performance assurance granularityincludes at least one of terminal, cell, region, terminal group, andtenant, and the network performance assurance condition describes atleast one of the following: a proportion of terminal in which thenetwork performance is met; a proportion of a usage time in whichservice performance is met in a service usage process in a total time; aproportion of terminal in which the network performance is not met; or aproportion of a usage time in which service performance is not met in aservice usage process in a total time.
 20. The method according to claim19, wherein the target network management request further comprises anapplicable condition corresponding to the network performance assuranceinformation.